Mr. Liam Carew:

I thank the committee for inviting us to this meeting. Along with the aforementioned areas, students were also surveyed on the extent to which they felt second level education equipped them with the skills to progress in life. In this question, transition year students rated the lowest. Given that STEM is a skills-heavy field, this indicates a significant opportunity for the transition year programme to be more reflective of the value of STEM in acquiring skills.

Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 negatively impacted all key areas assessed. Students' social interaction and development was most adversely impacted by the pandemic, with results showing a significant decrease since the pandemic's beginning. However, there was a slight rating gap recovery in year 3 of the study as we moved to more stable times. It should also be noted that physical health was the least impacted area, followed by mental health.

Significant input was received from teachers regarding their concerns over students' lack of development arising from periods of lockdown and online learning. Many reported their students having decreased skill sets, an ability to concentrate and an ability to learn compared to pre-pandemic cohorts. This will become one of the true challenges of our generation, and a challenge for educators and students today will be a challenge for third level institutions and employers tomorrow.

Based on the valuable results received over recent years, we have been able to form several conclusions and recommendations. In terms of mental health, we believe that the best way to foster a good mental health status among the student body is to create positive and caring student-teacher relationships along with providing excellent pastoral care.

Furthermore, students are not always aware of the mental health supports available to them, rendering these systems and protocols less effective. A campaign in each school to emphasise the resources available to students would be productive.

Social interaction is a vital aspect of school. This was emphasised by students unequivocally throughout our study. Students should be given every opportunity to socialise and participate in peer-based activities within their schools.

In terms of physical health, the negligence of PE classes by certain schools evidently has impacts for many students. Group sport activities that involve the whole school community contribute to improved student experiences across the board. Students in DEIS and non-DEIS mixed schools should be encouraged to participate in physical activities to a greater extent while students in junior cycle should be encouraged to keep up extracurricular activities and be shown the benefits of staying engaged with their sports.

Without a doubt, students have been impacted heavily by the pandemic, particularly in terms of social interaction and their learning and development skill sets. Students will require support to provide them with practices they missed during the period of online learning as well as equipping them with the skills they need to progress in life.

Our research shows the profound effect that education and schooling have on an adolescent's life both in a negative and a positive way. It also highlights the challenges that have become apparent after prolonged periods of remote learning during Covid-19. It is our aim that every effort be made to enhance the student experience in such a pivotal time in their lives and development.

We thank the committee for its time and look forward to discussing our research in education with it.